Susperia had a contract with Nuclear Blast between 2001and 2002. During this time, they released the following albums:
• Predominance (2001, info)
• Vindication (2002, info)
From the depths of Norway comes an all-new allegiance of evil Susperia. The five misanthropic members combine their rage into a fine-tuned funnel of swirling chaos that rages through the listener like an unfettered tornado.
The band's 2001 debut, Predominance, embodied the pure essence of extreme music by stripping black metal to its barren core: guitars, drums, vocals. Now, Vindication takes the dismantling of preconceptions even further by blatantly defying all categorization. Stripped of any pretense, Susperia hides behind nothing. But why should they? The band contains nothing but seasoned vets:
Tjodalv: co-founder of Dimmu Borgir and Old Man's Child
Athera: vocals in several underground Norwegian bands
Cyrus: live guitarist for Satyricon on their last three tours (including the tour with Pantera) and Old Man?s Child on the Ill Natured Spiritual Invasion tour
Elvorn: guitarist for Vidder, which also featured Mustis (Dimmu Borgir)
Memnock: session bassist on Old Man's Child's Revelation 666
In the cold dark of October 1998, Tjodalv and Cyrus planted the seed that would become Susperia. The band was completed in August 1999 when Athera, Memnock and Elvorn joined, making the lineup perfect, and in November, the band recorded the demo Illusions of Evil, which led to a four album deal with Nuclear Blast. With contract signed and pact forged, Susperia set about creating their bastard offspring, Predominance.
And where better to craft such devilish progeny than in The Abyss. Under the supervision of Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain) and Lars Szöke (Hypocrisy), Susperia delivered a metal bomb. Soon after the release the band hit the road through Europe with Dimmu Borgir, In Flames, Nevermore and Lacuna Coil. And later the same year with Dimmu Borgir again and Destruction. They also headlined the Extreme Open Air Festival in Portugal. Capping off a successful debut, Susperia inked a deal with Pony Canyon Records to have Predominance released in Korea.
After the success of their debut, expectations are running high for the follow up. The band returned once again to Abyss Studios in December 2001 to record Vindication, which quite possibly serves as the last piece of outside work from Peter Tägtgren. While the band holed up in Sweden, Athera stayed in Norway with vocal producer Bjørn Boge (Da Vinci) and recorded all the vocals at BBM Studio in Oslo. The attention to the vocals shines through on Vindication, as Susperia further distance themselves from their blackened roots to create a unique blend of extreme energy. Not content to suffer within the prefabricated limitations of any genre, Susperia make music not easily defined by traditional standards. Not black. Not death. Just pure aggressive metal. Just pure Susperia.
Tjodalv (drums)
Cyrus (guitars)
Memnock (bass)
Athera (vocals)
Hagen (guitars)
